The Master Plan
by Taipan Kiryu
Summary: G1 The Autobots develop a plan to capture Soundwave and interrogate him about a potential Decepticon threat that endangers planet Earth. How will they deal with their silent and emotionless prisoner? Rated for torture and mild coarse language.
1. Chapter 1

**The Master Plan**

**Written by**** Taipan Kiryu**

_Author's notes: I want to thank __KayDee Blu, who beta read this story._

_Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro, Takara and others. I only own this story._

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**Chapter 1**

Nothing could be heard a mile beneath the surface of Mount Saint Helens. But the narrow corridor was suddenly filled with the noise of steps that broke the silence that had prevailed so far.

Four Autobots were walking. Optimus Prime leading as Ironhide, Sunstreaker and Blaster followed closely behind. The four mechanoids stopped in front of a huge metal door at the end of the corridor and went in.

They arrived to a medium size room, illuminated by four fluorescent lamps that emitted a permanent buzz. There was a big console on the wall, and on the opposite wall stood a huge metal plate with two energon bonds at the top, two in the bottom and a fifth in the middle. All were deactivated.

Optimus Prime gave the plate a disdainful glance.

"This is disgusting."

Sunstreaker smirked. "Sorry Prime, we didn't have time to clean up this place. It may be not a five star hotel but…"

"It's more than enough for that Decepticreep. I mean, this won't be a holiday or something," Ironhide scoffed back.

Blaster made a grimace, putting a hand to his audio sensors. "Man… can't you do something about that buzz? It's sooooo annoying!"

"It's part of the enchantment, designed specially for our guest", said the weapons specialist.

Optimus folded his arms across his chest and gave another disapproving glance, this time toward the console on the other wall.

"This is not us. This room and its purpose break any Autobot honor code."

"Come on, Prime! You're not having second thoughts, are you? A lot of things depend on the success of this plan."

"I know, Ironhide, and that's the only reason why I'm granting permission for it to even take place".

Optimus turned to face the Autobot Communications Officer, who was playing with some wires connected to the console.

"What about the security, Blaster? Did you take all the precautions?"

"You bet. This room is sealed by the most powerful neural jammer ever created. Not even _he_ will be able to communicate outside these four walls. He'll be completely isolated. And before we arrive here, this will restrain him temporarly without putting him off line". Blaster showed a little device no bigger than his thumb.

"And if that doesn't work, we can always control that freak with a couple of blows to the face plate," Sunstreaker spat, an evil grim on his face.

"We will avoid violence as much as we can," Optimus said, but even he realized the nonsense of his words. He watched uneasily the wires Blaster was still holding. "It's a shame that we have to use such filthy methods like this."

Ironhide laid a hand on his leader's shoulder. "It's necessary, Optimus. You said it yourself. The safety of the human race and their planet is in immediate danger. Besides, the timing is perfect. Megatron and half of his elite forces are on Cybertron. Our chances couldn't be better."

Optimus didn't say anything else. He turned and left the room abruptly. The others followed.

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Having finally finished his double shift, Soundwave got up from the chair that sat in front of the mainframe computer in the Control Room of the Decepticon Headquarters. Thundercracker had arrived a few minutes ago but, as usual, the Seeker stayed still until the Communications Officer decided to retire from his usual post. Before taking his place, Thundercracker slightly nodded his head toward him and, as usual, the Communicator didn't give any sign of acknowledging his presence.

Instead, Soundwave walked to the privacy of his personal quarters. On his way, he crossed paths with Vortex and Blast Off, who both gave him an uneasy look. Long after they passed him, the Communications Officer could hear Vortex saying something rude about him, but, like with any other useless bit of information, he disregarded it with no reaction and headed on his way.

He arrived to his quarters and closed the door behind him. He was satisfied to be alone. His Casseticons were not inside of him at the present moment. Lately they were spending most nights away from the base to which Soundwave suspected had to do with wanting to wander around among the humans. But as long as they returned safe, none of it was his concern.

He sat in front of his huge personal computer and opened a panel on the console. A wire emerged and he plugged it into his head.

The journey begun as every night. As always, the first moment was unpleasant. But that lasted only seconds and soon he found himself floating and traveling through the human's vast plane of cyberspace, millions and millions of bytes of information running through his head.

For hours he traveled, submerging himself deeply into their virtual universe, losing complete contact with his body. He traveled through hundreds of television signals. And while he disregarded most, (including the billions of private conversations the humans were having) the ones dedicated to politics, society, and economics all caught his attention, with even a few music channels perking his interest.

He was about to finish for the night when he abruptly stopped. All the information around him disappeared, as his mind suddenly started focusing on something. There was a beating, a sound, a melody his audio sensors had never heard before.

With his attention caught and his senses delighted, Soundwave tried getting into the sound that was already disappearing. But right before it did, the Decepticon Communications Officer was able to track its possible origin.

Soundwave retreated, slowly unplugging himself from the cyberspace. He checked his internal chronometer. Soon dawn would arrive. Despite his double shift and all the hours spent in cyberspace, he wasn't tired. He hated recharging because he considered it a waste of time, time he could spend doing his duties or finding new ways to expand his mind. And his mind was his most precious treasure; it was a universe in permanent movement. Behind his cold and unexpressive appearance existed a universe thinking, analyzing, discovering and creating.

But that night he considered it proper to recharge at least for some breems before beginning his quest. Right after he lay down unceremoniously on his recharge bed, he replayed in his head the unique and intriguing sound.

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It was almost noon when Soundwave landed beside an abandoned old factory lost within the desert. He had spent the last hour trying to locate the exact origin of the sound detected last night, and seemed finally he had found it.

The Decepticon took a careful glance around him and ran his scanners. His advanced audio sensors caught the noises of the wind and the local fauna, but nothing more. Only after the process was finished, he directed his attention toward the human factory. The place was very carefree, and there was no signal of organic life inside besides the rats, snakes and some insects. A shattered fence surrounded the place and there were some rusted signals alerting about possible electrical shocks, prohibiting the entrance.

Soundwave accessed the location. It was full of deactivated generators and little half destroyed buildings. Now that he had the source of the sound identified, the blue and white Transformer walked straight to a shattered construction to his right. When he was about to arrive, a voice took him out of his train of thoughts.

"You just couldn't resist, right Soundwave?"

The Communications Officer turned around, only to find Blaster leaning on an old antenna.

Soundwave said nothing, but his shoulder cannon began to rotate dangerously.

"Save the chit chat, Blaster! Just get'em!" Ironhide shouted, bursting in from a pile of debris.

Soundwave shot and took cover behind a little building.

"Give up, Soundwave! There's no escape!" The blue and white mech heard the Autobot yell at him as laser shots zipped by, nearly clipping him.

An euphoric shout behind him made the Decepticon turn around. He had just enough time to catch a glimpse of a very fast yellow Lamborghini charging toward him at full speed.

Sunstreaker crashed against the Communications Officer making him plunge backward into the entire building behind him. But right after Soundwave fell, he grabbed the Autobot by his tires and threw him against Blaster, who was running toward them.

The impact was brutal, as both Autobots collapsed to the ground, a crushing collision of metal scraping and clashing together violently. Immediately, Soundwave got up and steadied his concussion blaster. He was about to shoot when an intense pain on his back made him fall.

That was all he could do. As soon as he hit the dust, two powerful arms pinned him to the floor and unarmed him.

"Nice shot, man!" Blaster said, getting up.

"As humans say, piece of cake," Ironhide replied. "Now use that device of yours before he can radio for help."

Still stunned by the shot, Soundwave felt something sharp being attached to his neck.

"Done," said Blaster, running a scanner over Soundwave. "We are so lucky. His cassettes aren't inside of him."

Ironhide tied Soundwave's hands with a huge energon chain. "Great. I didn't feel like dealing with those little junk pests. Let's get back to the base". He got up, grabbing his prisoner by the neck. "On your feet, Decepticon! We already wasted enough time in here."

Right behind the hologram of a huge dune, Skyfire emerged, transforming into his alt mode. The three Autobots and their prisoner got inside. Sunstreaker pushed Soundwave roughly, making him fall to his knees.

"Take it easy, Sunny. No need to get violent," laughed Blaster.

"This piece of slag will pay for what he did to me!" replied the Lamborghini with a disgusted face.

Skyfire took off. Inside of him, Blaster was carefully detaching Soundwave's shoulder cannon.

"Any attempt of communication is useless, Soundwave," he said, perceiving subtle mind waves coming from the prisoner. "The little neural jammer I attached in your neck will avoid you from contacting your comrades, though I don't blame you for trying."

Ironhide took the shoulder cannon from Blaster's hands and looked at it disdainfully. "This was pretty easy, don't you think Blaster? You were right. This cold son of a glitch couldn't resist the special sound you created."

"A fair reward for my efforts. I spent almost twenty solar cycles developing it."

Soundwave said nothing, not moving an inch. He seemed to be looking at some spot ahead of him with no particular interest. As always, what was going on in his mind was a complete mystery.

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Skyfire landed in a secure platform inside the Ark.

As soon as he was dragged out of the ship, Soundwave was welcomed by many pairs of optics that looked at him with very little sympathy. Definitely, he was not the most popular Decepticon around.

Ironhide, Blaster and Sunstreaker took him to the special room they had prepared for him. There, they chained his arms, legs and waist to the big plate on the wall.

"Well, well… welcome Decepticon scum!" Sunstreaker said with a grin, roughly detaching the little neural jammer from Soundwave's neck, causing him an uncomfortable wave of pain. "This will be your home for a while; I hope you'll find it comfortable. It was created specially for you."

Standing in stony silence, the blue Decepticon gave off no reaction of having listened to the Autobot's words.

"Good old Soundwave, cheerful as always," mocked Blaster.

"As you must have realized, Con, this room is protected against any of your dirty little tricks," Ironhide said. "So you better behave and cooperate or things will get pretty nasty for you."

The door opened and Optimus Prime entered, followed by Inferno and Sideswipe.

"Greetings, Soundwave," the Autobot leader said. "I truly lament the circumstances in which you were brought here."

Soundwave didn't reply but glanced stoically at Optimus Prime.

Optimus placed himself in front of the prisoner, folding his arms across his chest. "I suppose you are wondering why we brought you here, so I'll get straight to the point. A while ago, our spies notified us there have been constant hacking attempts coming from Decepticon Headquarters to the intelligence systems of the human countries that possess nuclear weapons. Obviously Megatron is trying to control the nuclear weaponry of the humans and obviously you are behind this entire operation."

There was no reply from the Decepticon Communications Officer.

"It's priority for us Autobots to stop you. For more than thirty cycles we have tried to stop your intrusions and track the codes you are using to trespass the human's computer security but we have been unsuccessful. I need you to give me those codes immediately."

Optimus Prime stopped talking and looked deeply at Soundwave, but the Decepticon remained silent. His expression was unreadable. Blaster ran a secret scan over him, trying to penetrate his mind, but couldn't sense anything at all. No fear, rage or doubt. Nothing at all.

"Soundwave, I need you to understand that those codes are essential for us, and that we will do whatever it takes to get them," continued Prime.

Silence prevailed for a few more uncomfortable seconds, but finally Soundwave spoke for the first time since his capture.

"Point taken. Petition denied," he said with his unique and monotonic voice.

Optimus narrowed his optics. "I knew you would say that, but I must warn you that if you don't give me those codes I will be forced to take other kind of measurements than just asking."

"Petition denied. Codes confidential," repeated Soundwave without any trace of emotion in his voice.

"Last warning. Give us the codes and avoid a very unpleasant situation for both of us."

"Codes confidential of Decepticon High Command," he spoke for a third time. Though his voice sounded as emotionless as usual, Optimus could detect some sort of challenge.

The leader of the Autobots unfolded his arms and sighed. "I see… this is your decision, then. You are intelligent, Soundwave, and I really hope you will change your mind and avoid being unnecessarily damaged."

Optimus made a sign to Ironhide, who walked to the console. There he opened a panel and extracted a bunch of wires and connected them to Soundwave's chest and head.

"Last time I'm asking you, Soundwave. Give us those codes," Optimus spoke again.

Soundwave didn't reply. He didn't even make the slightest movement when Ironhide connected the wires to his body. He looked to be totally absent of any signs of breaking, as if he couldn't feel the intruding devices invading his structure.

Optimus shook his head. He didn't want to have to resort to this, but the uncooperative demeanor of the Decepticon standing before him now was giving him no other choice.

"It's a shame… Ironhide, start."

_To be continued._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's notes: I can't thank enough KayDee Blu__ for beta reading this chapter and being a wonderful friend._

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**Chapter 2**

_"Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events." __Sir Winston Churchill, British politician (1874 - 1965)._

Ironhide's steady hand gripped the big and black lever. He held it still for a second, hesitant, catching Sunstreaker and Blaster's waiting optics. Finally, he pulled it down, watching intensely as the mild electrical shock traveled through every circuit within Soundwave's body.

Optimus Prime made a quick signal with his right hand and Ironhide immediately pulled the lever up.

"So, Soundwave," the leader of the Autobots spoke. "This situation is unnecessary. Give us those codes and we'll stop. You will be free to go."

Soundwave remained silent. His face plate was emotionless and his optic visor didn't show any signal of acknowledging the mild pain he had just been subjected to.

Optimus Prime sighed. It was becoming very difficult for him to hide his troubling dismay. "Your decision, then. This will stop as soon as you become more reasonable."

The Autobot leader pulled Ironhide to the side. "You may proceed with the session as long as the situation remains under control, understood?"

"Cons have never given us that luxury in the past, Optimus," Ironhide grumbled back.

"And we are not Decepticons, now are we, Ironhide? Now... I will be leaving the base for the night. I will follow up with the results tomorrow."

Cautiously avoiding looking at their hushed prisoner, the Autobot leader left the room with Inferno and Sideswipe following reluctantly.

Sunstreaker waited until Prime's steps couldn't be heard anymore and rubbed his hands together shrewdly. "Well now… seems like this party's just starting."

"This is no party, Sunstreaker," Ironhide said. Then he turned to glare at Soundwave. "Still silent, Decepticon?"

No answer came from the prisoner.

Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Ironhide turned back to the console and pulled the lever down again, releasing another wave of electricity through the blue Communicator. The weapons specialist was about to put the lever up, but Sunstreaker's hand quickly stopped him.

"Wait. Leave it a few seconds more," said the Lamborghini.

"That could be dangerous to his processor," Ironhide warned.

"Do you want those codes or not, Ironhide?" Sunstreaker snapped back. "He's a big guy… he can take it."

Seeing the validity in Sunstreaker's statement, knowing how vital getting the codes were to their mission, Ironhide kept the lever down for a few more seconds before returning it to its original position.

"So, Con? Did you have enough?" he hoarsely asked.

No answer came from Soundwave. His body was strangely relaxed, as if his mind was focused on something else, someplace very far away from there.

"Seems like he's enjoying it. Hey you, anybody there?" Sunstreaker spat, snapping his fingers in front of the Decepticon's face.

Giving the Communications Officer a smirk, seeing how their efforts weren't bringing about the desired result, Sunstreaker added: "Maybe we should increase the voltage."

"Prime didn't authorize the increase of the voltage."

"Slag it, Ironhide! It's urgent we get those codes! This guy's gonna be like this all day, not saying a word!"

And before Ironhide could utter a word, Sunstreaker grabbed the lever and increased the voltage on the console himself. This time the electric shock was much more violent. Every circuit in Soundwave's body shook as a burning constant pain expanded all over him. And for the first time, the Decepticon had to make a real effort to remain motionless.

"Seems like he doesn't feel any pain," Ironhide lowly muttered.

Blaster, who had watched the entire scene, nodded. "He's tough, no doubt about that," the Autobot communicator said, more serious than he had ever been in millenniums.

"He's just playing the brave guy!" Sunstreaker exclaimed disdainfully. "Hit him again, Iron!"

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During the rest of the day, Soundwave was tortured with dozens of electrical shocks of dangerously high intensities. None of it had made a difference. And as night fell, Soundwave remained silent, never begging for mercy, or even groaning out loud from the billions of voltage that had been released through his body. He had complete focus over his complex and powerful mind in maintaining his emotionless posture.

Ironhide pulled the lever up for the last time. "Slag! This is pointless! We've been at this all night!" He growled.

Sunstreaker smirked some. "He has to talk eventually."

"It's been enough, Sunny! If we continue we'll fry him! Look at all the smoke coming off his body!" Blaster said, shaking his head.

"Oh he can take it, right Soundie boy?" mocked Sunstreaker, slapping his hand softly against Soundwave's cheek. But as soon as he touched the face plate of the Decepticon, a strong electrical shock made him pull back his hand in a hurry.

"Slag! He's still energized! That hurt!" cried the Lamborghini, rubbing his hand in pain.

"If it hurt you, imagine how it hurt _him_," Blaster added quietly.

"Enough!" Ironhide bellowed. "Tomorrow we'll ask Prime for a new course of action."

Sunstreaker rolled his optics at the weapons specialist. "Enough? Prime was very clear about how urgent it is to get those codes!"

"What do you suggest then?" Ironhide shot back. "I can't increase the voltage without completely frying his circuits! Those were not the orders!"

Sunstreaker turned his head to a panel attached to the big console that controlled the electrical shocks. "There's always plan B, you know…"

Blaster, who had remained against the wall with his arms crossed, stepped in. "Oh no, not _that_! You're not seriously…"

"Oh, come on Blaster!" Sunstreaker spat angrily. "You surprise me! Isn't this guy your sworn enemy?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Then how can you stand there and defend him? After everything they've done to us? Do you know what he and the rest of the Decepticons did to a few of my friends back home, Blaster? He deserves it!"

"I'm notdefending him… and yeah, Sunny, I know what they've done to our comrades back home…" Blaster replied sharply.

Sunstreaker shook his head and turned to face Ironhide. "Your call, Iron… want those codes or not? Cuz this isn't workin' for slag!"

Ironhide remained silent for some seconds, his face almost as unreadable as the prisoner's.

"Proceed," the weapons specialist sighed.

Sunstreaker walked to the console while Blaster detached the wires from Soundwave's body.

"You should cooperate, you know…" Blaster whispered, though he wasn't surprised when the Decepticon didn't even look at him. "Why do you have to be so slagging stubborn?"

Carrying a string of metal needles from the console that ran the length of his hand, Sunstreaker roughly stuck them onto Soundwave's body, without any kind of consideration whatsoever.

The Decepticon Communications Officer trembled a little, unable to suppress the pain of the needles penetrating his sensitive metal exterior. But he knew that was nothing. The real thing was coming from the red button Ironhide was about to press.

Blaster and Sunstreaker took some steps back and waited. And then it happened. Soundwave's optics got blurred. He could only feel an intense, excruciating pain rip through him, and then the same pain multiplied a hundred times. Hundreds of burns perforated his exterior and circuitry.

This time he couldn't suppress it anymore. His arms shivered and his hands twisted in agony. He could have sworn his body was being torn in pieces. The metal of his wrists were beginning to be sliced open by the energon chains that held him tightly as he struggled to free himself.

Suddenly, it stopped. Soundwave's body would have collapsed if the energon chains wouldn't have been keeping him standing.

"For Primus! What the slag is that?" cried Blaster, pointing to the greenish fluid starting to seep out of the Decepticon.

"Hydrofluoric acid. The needles injected a fair amount of it into his systems. Extremely painful, but not deadly, yet…" Ironhide replied.

Blaster walked toward the Decepticon. "Soundwave, this isn't a game! Give up and talk! It's useless to be so stupidly stubborn!"

Soundwave made an extreme effort to regain his control, to calm down the shivering of his body, and very slowly he supported his weight on his weakened legs again. And, once again, he remained silent.

"This is getting really annoying!" Sunstreaker spat disdainfully.

Ironhide dimmed his optics at the red button, his finger resting on it, and finally, hesitantly, pushed it again.

For the first time since his capture, Soundwave's optic visor dimmed, showing a glimpse of his ultimate humiliation. He stretched his neck to the side, in a useless attempt to escape from his own body.

He couldn't see anymore. All he could perceive were deformed voices, one much stronger than the other ones… and that buzz… that annoying, uninterrupted buzz from the lamps drilling his audio receptors. And there was another noise. The bizarre and unmistakable sound of his own interior circuitry being dissolved by the acid. Nothing had logic anymore. Sound and pain were fused into one another. For the first time, Soundwave had to use all of his strength to suffocate that cry of pain which threatened to emerge from his vocalizer.

His attempts at trying to suppress it all to the more distant side of his mind had failed. Every one of his circuits was smoldering tears of acid draining inside his body… _burning_… _destroying_…. _devouring mercilessly_.

Suddenly, it all stopped, but Soundwave remained blind. His audios were also damaged, but the voices and yelling around him began to have sense.

"… a shame! Since when have we Autobots become cold mercenaries like this?!" a distant voice cried.

"Calm down, Ratchet," Sunstreaker said wearily. "He's still functioning, isn't he?"

"No thanks to you, Sunstreaker!" was the medic's angry reply.

"Obtaining the information was priority!" Sunstreaker yelled back.

"Dead mechs don't give information!"

Soundwave's vision came back. He could see the Autobot medic glaring furiously at the other three.

"GET OUT! ALL THREE OF YOU! GET OUT NOW!" Ratchet yelled, pointing to the door.

"It's notin your hands to make these kinds of decisions, Ratchet," Ironhide responded coldly.

"And it wasn't in yourhands to fry his slaggin' circuits, either! You're so lucky Prime is out of the base tonight! When he gets back, you three can bet your afts I will be notifying him of this. Make no mistake about that!"

"Hey, I never agreed with this!" Blaster protested.

Ratchet glared at him. "But you didn't do anything to stop it, now did you?"

Blaster bowed his head in silent shame, knowing the medic was right and headed to the door without another word.

Ironhide frowned and walked to the exit, saying nothing as Sunstreaker did the same, carefully avoiding the medic's fuming optics, and closing the door behind them.

Ratchet turned to face Soundwave, shaking his head in pity. He walked toward him and began to scan his body. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" the medic said softly, more or less as if he were talking to himself than to the Decepticon in front of him. "If I would've known before…"

Soundwave watched Ratchet suspiciously. It astonished his cold and rational logics. It was strange… very strange, that the medic was apologizing for actions he didn't commit.

"There are multiple circuits burned and a high percentage of your inner sensors were melted by the acid… I can fix the most severe injures, but you'll need a complete sensor overhaul to be completely functional again."

Seeing the Autobot extract some medical tools out of a compartment from his chest compartment and start on his repairs, Soundwave wondered why the medic wasn't trying to obtain information as the others did. He suspected the whole healing procedure was nothing more than another tactic to try and reach him.

But Ratchet seemed to be totally concentrated on his work, which was being performed with extreme caution and dedication. He spoke eventually just to inform Soundwave what he was doing on his inner circuitry.

In less than three hours, the most serious injures had been repaired and Soundwave's circuits were functioning at a basic level.

"It's done," informed Ratchet. "You'll still have many burns inside and systems that are not working, but the immediate danger is over. You'll continue functioning."

"Assistance appreciated," Soundwave responded.

Ratchet shivered and stepped back by instinct. He never thought he would receive any kind of verbal answer, and certainly not from that Decepticon in particular. And to hear words of gratitude… was… weird, shocking really.

"I'm… I'm a medic…" Ratchet mumbled, trying to calm down. "It's my duty. Maybe…. if you were a medic of course, you would do the same thing for me… in a situation like this, of course…"

"Affirmative," was the monotonic answer.

Ratchet opened his optics to their limit. Now that was weird. He stayed silent for a bit, stunned at the Decepticon. Finally, he succeded in regaining his control.

"I have to go now," Ratchet said slowly. "Actually I'm down here without authorization. I'll come to check you again tomorrow morning. I'll make sure this won't happen again, I promise."

Soundwave gave him a quick shine of his crimson optic visor and said no more. Only those very few ones that knew him would have detected the glimpse of respect in that fleeting gaze. The Autobot walked away, still finding hard to believe what just happened.

_To be continued._

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_A/N: One more chapter to go. Thanks for reading and pl__ease let me know what you think._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's__ notes: Thanks to all of you who have followed this story. Please review and let me know how you liked it. A big hug to KayDee Blu, who beta read this._

_DISCLAIMER: I forgot to mention in the previous chapters that I own Transformers only in my dreams. In the real life, they belong to Hasbro, Takara and others. This was written for entertainment purposes only, and no profit was made._

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**Chapter 3**

The night was full of silence and a mile beneath the surface of the Earth that silence was even more intense. But for Soundwave's powerful aural capacity, that night was _full _of sounds. The constant buzz of the lamps, the distant noise of the energy generators of the Autobot base, and, above everything, the creak of his own damaged inner circuitry devoured by the acid, all created a very peculiar symphony of suffering.

As one of the few Cybertronians capable of arranging vast amounts of data at the same time without losing focus, Soundwave's organized and powerful mind classified every physical and mental sensation, putting them in different zones of his CPU.

The experience of the physical and psychological torture of the day would have been a traumatic memory for anyone, but for Soundwave, it was no more than a passing ache, an unavoidable setback. Having performed a very careful scan on his body, the Decepticon Communications Officer discovered all life threatening emergencies had been repaired fully by the Autobot medic and that his most prized possession, his _mind_, was undamaged.

A very light and almost soundless buzz on the roof caught his attention. Of course, he never expected to be left alone during the night. He knew perfectly what was behind those small lights, what was perfectly hidden among the greenish shine of the fluorescent lamps. Hidden cameras were very common at Headquarters, especially in the zones meant to contain war prisoners. There were many back at the Decepticon base. He had installed them himself.

Minutes passed, and then hours. Soundwave's internal chronometer revealed that soon the fourth hour after midnight earth time would arrive. At that time, Skywarp would _have_ to be in his duty shift in the Command Center of the Nemesis, and Soundwave's Cassettes would be spending the night in some weird terrestrial environment (except for Buzzsaw, who always had some sort of uneasiness toward human architecture).

Time went by, minute after minute. Soundwave performed a complete scan of the progress of his self repair circuits. The Decepticon felt satisfied. The only thing worrying him remotely was his lack of energy, which was reaching a very low level.

Once again, his attention was caught by the surveillance cameras that had suddenly stopped functioning. His suspicious were not let down. He could hear footsteps walking toward his location. _Heavy and fast. _The altered emotions of one of the two mechanoids that were approaching were perfectly clear to the telepathic ability of the Decepticon.

The door hissed open as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe walked in.

"Is he in recharge mode?" whispered Sideswipe, closing the door behind him.

"I doubt it," replied Sunstreaker, getting closer to the prisoner.

"Wow! You certainly did a number on him, Sunny! Look at all those holes in his armor…"

Sunstreaker stood face to face with Soundwave. "You thought it was over, didn't you, Soundie? This time Ratchet or _anyone_ for that matter will come to save you, so either you give me those codes or things will get really nasty for you!"

As expected, Soundwave didn't reply, but the yellow Lamborghini thought he caught barely a perceptible shiver coming from the chest of the prisoner. But before he could react, Sideswipe fell to his knees beside him.

"Sides! What's happening?"

"My head! I can't stand it!" cried Sideswipe, holding his head with his hands.

Sunstreaker glared furiously at Soundwave.

"It's you, isn't it? What the slag are you doing to him?" he yelled.

Soundwave didn't give any signal of listening to the Autobot. A new groan coming from his twin made Sunstreaker clench his fists.

"_Enough!_ Whatever the slag you are doing, stop it right now!" he cried, punching Soundwave's face.

The mild shiver on the Decepticon's chest stopped as Sideswipe let his hands fall, resting them on the floor.

"Oh, man… that was painful…" he muttered.

Sunstreaker helped him to get on his feet.

"This Con is dangerous, Sides. He was trying to get into your mind. I've heard he's capable of doing that."

"We should talk to Ironhide about this…" muttered Sideswipe.

"There's no time! Optimus will get back in a few hours and the whole plan will be a complete failure! I can't afford to let that happen. Just hold him tight. I'll take care of the rest."

"Are you sure? I mean, you saw what he just did to me!"

"Sides, the guy barely has energy. I doubt he's able to stand up by himself. Just do as I say and we'll have those codes in a matter of minutes."

Sideswipe shrugged his shoulders and placed himself beside the prisoner. Sunstreaker walked toward the console, activating a sequence of buttons. The chains that kept Soundwave pinned to the wall loosened. Faster than lightning, Sideswipe pushed the Decepticon and placed himself behind, holding him by the arms. Too weak to even think of fighting back, Soundwave didn't resist at all.

Sunstreaker approached them, opening and closing his fists.

"OK, Decepticon junk. You're going to give _me _those codes or I will solve this the old fashion way."

The chest of the Communications Officer shivered again and Sideswipe staggered.

"Aaaarghh!! He's doing it again!" he cried.

Quickly, Sunstreaker roughly grabbed Soundwave's chin.

"Stop that! Stop it or you will regret it!" the Autobot barked, feeling his rage reaching unknown levels.

But it didn't stop this time. Sideswipe continued groaning, but he didn't let go of his grip over the prisoner.

Sunstreaker's powerful fist crashed brutally against Soundwave's cheek, but the strange attack coming from the Decepticon's chest continued. The yellow Lamborghini continued hitting the prisoner to the point where his own fists were starting to hurt. Finally, Sideswipe could feel the weight of the Decepticon resting entirely on his arms and the vibration stopped.

"Sides! Are you OK?" Sunstreaker asked his twin.

"I… guess… but my CPU is on fire, I tell you!"

Sunstreaker pointed a finger at Soundwave's optic visor.

"You're going to pay for this, Decepticon! Hold him tight, Sides! Don't release him under any circumstance!"

Sideswipe tight his grip on Soundwave's arms, but it was a pointless precaution. The red Lamborghini could feel the perfectly weakened state of his prisoner. He had to make an effort to keep him on his feet.

Sunstreaker got closer to the Communications Officer, their faces only inches apart.

"Do you know what I _hate_ about you, Soundwave? Your silence. Your slagging silence! And your absolute lack of feelings… Slag! It's such an irony that precisely you're a Communications Officer when you barely speak!"

A subtle shine in Soundwave's optic visor indicated to Sunstreaker the prisoner was anything _but_ emotionless, despite the effects of the torture and the recent beating.

The yellow Lamborghini glanced furiously at that visor, that damn visor that was watching him like he was just another object in the room. There was something very disturbing there, something that was bothering him more than the Decepticon's silence, something that infuriated him…

Sunstreaker's mouth twisted into a bizarre smile.

"Hey, Sides. Have you ever wondered what's behind his face plate?"

"Hmm… now that you mention it, Sunny, yeah."

Sunstreaker lifted his right arm. His hand withdrew and disappeared inside his wrist and a sharp drill emerged in its place.

"If you don't want to talk, freak, I'll extract the information right from your CPU," said the yellow Lamborghini, bringing the drill dangerously close to Soundwave's head.

"What about his chest, Sunny? Blaster said once that the most sensitive part of a Cassette Holder is the compartment under his chest," spat Sideswipe, still with a very unpleasant sensation in his CPU.

"You're so right, Sides," his twin darkly replied. Sunstreaker's optics could only watch the Decepticon in front of him, and for a moment he forgot everything related with the codes and with the initial plan. He even forgot about his twin's presence.

The drill begun to rotate, emitting a bizarre shine under the green light of the lamps. But the thing that bothered Soundwave wasn't the shine, or the sharp edge of the drill coming toward him. It was that _sound_, that annoying and continuous sound that pierced his audios even before the drill began to penetrate his chest compartment.

Sideswipe wasn't mistaken. The cavity under Soundwave's chest compartment _was_ the Communicator's weakest point and as soon as the tool started to penetrate, the Decepticon felt an unbearable pain, even worst than the burns caused by the acid.

But Soundwave held it in. His mind was extremely busy to be distracted with such meaningless things like pain. He could feel clearly the hate of the yellow Autobot toward him, as well as his twin's apprehension and fear. There were no reasoning for those feelings, no place for logic.

After some minutes of brutal work from the drill, Soundwave's chest compartment opened and his inner circuitry was exposed.

Sunstreaker look amazed at the complex system, so different from any other mechanoid. That was not a normal Communicator, that was for sure.

But Sunstreaker's amazement lasted only some seconds. With an immense hate burning inside of him, the yellow Autobot introduced his voracious hand inside Soundwave's chest and started his destructive labor. Circuits and wires tangled between his fingers as he started destroying them one by one.

A terrible cry of pain threatened Soundwave's vocals, but once again he didn't let it out. He suppressed it, pushing it back to the darkest side of his mind, and left it there to die.

Sunstreaker smiled at the sight of the carnage in front of him. He was about to say something but, suddenly, something coming from inside Soundwave penetrated through his hand. It wasn't something physical. It wasn't any of the Decepticon's shattered circuits, neither an inner explosion, neither an electric shock… it was something that was nameless, some kind of strange energy that he had never felt before.

Suddenly, Sunstreaker's body began to go numb as he felt it travel through his hand to the rest of his structure. It wasn't painful or unpleasant. It was warm, and slow.

He quickly withdrew his hand from Soundwave's chest and stepped back. He looked at Sideswipe, who released the prisoner and fell to his knees, putting his hands on his head again.

Soundwave fell too, his face hitting the floor. Slowly, the Decepticon put his hands on the floor and got to his knees.

And then it happened. Soundwave's back began to tremble and something, a sound that no other sentient being had ever heard before, came out from the vocalizer of the blue robot.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe looked at each other petrified. Was the Decepticon Communications Officer losing his control? Was that, finally, the long repressed cry of pain?

But that hesitation moment lasted only seconds. Sunstreaker could feel his lubricant freezing inside him when he realized what was happening. That horrible, chilling sound, was a _laugh._

_Soundwave was laughing._

"B-b-but what… how…?" babbled Sideswipe, still on the floor, retreating until his back hit the metallic wall.

With amazing speed for his weakened condition, Soundwave lifted his head and looked deeply at Sunstreaker. The strange sensation came back to the Autobot, this time brutally. Suddenly, the yellow Lamborghini lost all control over his body. He tried to shout but his vocals were paralyzed. His thoughts were being filled with fog and suddenly he wasn't himself, he wasn't Sunstreaker anymore.

He was Soundwave. He could feel the Decepticon's thoughts so clear inside his mind. He saw Soundwave choosing him, Sunstreaker, between all the Autobots, to use him, to manipulate him like a puppet. The telepath had taken advantage of the rude and egocentric personality of the Autobot to use it for his purposes.

The torture had only been one step more, only the easiest way to gain the time the Decepticon needed to execute his plan. Yes, all this time, it had been _Soundwave__s _plan.

Sunstreaker couldn't move, couldn't feel a thing. From a very distant place, he could hear Sideswipe's voice calling his name. But the yellow Autobot couldn't reply, he didn't even try. Everything inside of him was Soundwave and his powerful mind controlling him like a toy. And just before he lost the last scent of his own personality, Sunstreaker could see the methodic and careful work the Decepticon Communications Officer had done.

Ever since the first moment he had been introduced to the Autobot Headquarters, Soundwave had begun a slow and meticulous hacking process over Teletran I. One by one, each security system had been jammed and an immense amount of information had been extracted and carefully recorded inside Soundwave's CPU, _especially_ all the data the Autobots had concerning the nuclear stations of the humans. With that information, the Decepticons could complete their hacking process over the human's computerized systems that controlled the nuclear power of eighty per cent of the nations that possessed that kind of weaponry.

By allowing his capture, Soundwave got a privileged position into the heart of the Autobot Headquarters. All those moments Soundwave had seemed to be in a state of cold indifference, even being voraciously tortured, he had been decoding every security password in the base until he finally reached Teletran I. The plan had been successful.

_His plan_.

Sunstreaker was completely paralyzed, not only because of the telepathic control of the Decepticon but because of the coldness he had showed to execute his plan. He didn't care about the pain; his priority had always been to fulfill his duty.

Two seconds before Sunstreaker's mind shut off, he remembered that monotonic laugh as he felt the terror taking over the few parts of his brain that he could still control. After that, everything got dark.

"Sunny, Sunny!!" cried Sideswipe, unable to move.

Sunstreaker's answer was to shoot a laser beam that crossed over his twin's chest. Sideswipe fell heavily to the floor, his optics shut down.

Sunstreaker's face was emotionless, his optics empty. As soon as his twin's body hit the floor, the yellow Lamborghini extended his hand.

With more effort than he had calculated, Soundwave transformed into his alt mode and landed on the Autobot's palm.

Immediately, Sunstreaker started to walk toward the door. He reached the Ark's exit and got out. He and Sideswipe were the only Autobots on night duty that night, so he wasn't interrupted.

* * *

A dark highway was suddenly illuminated by the shine of two lights that were approaching at high speed. A sudden moon light coming from the sky lightened the figure of a yellow Lamborghini driving at 180 miles per hour toward a dangerous curve ahead.

Right in the middle of that curve, one of the doors of the car opened and the reduced figure of Soundwave, still transformed in his alt mode, was expelled from the vehicle, seconds before the Autobot crashed against a natural stone wall at the bottom of a mountain.

Fire and smoke rose through the night as Soundwave transformed back to his standard mode and rested a knee on the grass.

The damage on his body was too severe to be ignored this time. Besides, the telepathic energy he had used to control Sunstreaker's mind and the sound attack he generated to subdue Sideswipe had decreased his energy reserves considerably, that were at a dangerously low level.

However, his weakness didn't stop him from feeling the two friendly presences that suddenly appeared. Some seconds after, a warm touch on his leg and another one, much stronger, on his arm, confirmed him that his exposition to pain had reached an end.

"State your condition, Soundwave," Megatron said, his voice harsh, although the hidden tone of concern could be read clearly by the Communicator's mind.

"Functional…" he managed to speak.

"We were close to attacking the Autobot´s base! Just one more minute…" said Rumble, embracing his arms and legs around his master's calf.

"Information… obtained… mission… successful…" continued Soundwave, his monotonic voice shaken by spasms.

"Enough talking, Soundwave!" Megatron ordered. "You need urgent medical attention."

Megatron's voice was rough as he picked up Soundwave from the ground with extreme care, resting his lieutenant's arm on his shoulder.

"That slagging Autobot scum will need a medic too, in case there's something left of him!" Rumble spat, still attached to Soundwave's leg, looking evilly at the curtain of fire and smoke that was Sunstreaker.

A black shadow descended under the moon light as Astrotrain, in his ship mode, landed in front of the three Decepticons. Very carefully, Megatron carried Soundwave into the Triplechanger and laid him on a recharge berth specially prepared. Rumble placed himself beside his master, holding one of his fingers.

"Your plan was a complete success, Soundwave, but if I would've known you were going to return in _this_ condition, I would've never authorized it," Megatron complained as he connected one of Soundwave's arms to an energon dispenser. The Decepticon Commander felt his anger raising as he appraised the amount of holes, burns, and dents on his lieutenant's body.

"Those damn Autofools will regret this! We will make them pay!!" yelled Rumble, clinching his little fists.

Soundwave's crimson visor blinked and he let his body relax. He felt Astrotrain blasting off and soon the familiar sensation of flying took over.

"Data obtained… one hundred percent, Megatron. Conditions ready… for phase 2…" he spoke again, analyzing from inside the immense amount of digits and codes he had extracted from Teletran I.

"Soundwave…" Megatron interrupted.

Soundwave glanced at his leader, waiting for further instructions about the incoming phase 2.

"You will rest. Once the Constructicons repair you, you will recharge for at least two complete cycles. That is an order."

Soundwave smiled, a vague smile that didn't need a mouth or superfluous expressions of joy. For the first time in millions of years, the idea of recharge and rest was welcomed.

THE END


End file.
